Month: October 2014

How subfloors increase your termite risk & what to do about it | Coast Pest

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How Subfloors Increase Your Termite Risk And What To Do About It

Subterranean termites come up from underground to attack homes, meaning the first signs of damage can usually be seen in the subfloor. If you’re buying a home and can’t get to inspect the subfloor (or currently live in a property with a subfloor), the likelihood is that there has been no termite inspection for some years.

This is exactly what happened to Martin, who bought his dream home in Sydney in 2000. A timber pest inspection at the time told him there were no termites. Last year Martin decided to undertake some renovations, and what he found horrified him. The windowsill literally fell away in his hands (dry rot, and a warning sign of a termite friendly environment). When he began removing gyprock from the walls, the extensive termite damage was clear to see.

On inspection, Martin’s subfloor was found to be riddled with termites. Termite leads ploughed a path from the soil to the floor joists. The damage was estimated at many thousands of dollars in materials, plus labour.

How is a subfloor built?

A floor consists of three layers: the joists, the subfloor, and the top-floor. The joists support the subfloor and the subfloor is attached to the top-floor (tiles, hardwood, or carpet). The subfloor is usually made of plywood or pine: termite food.

Termites make their way up supporting joists to the subfloor, where they can cause extensive damage before then attacking the rest of the house.

How to spot termite damage to subfloors

There are a number of signs that indicated termite damage to the subfloor:

  • Squeaking floors
  • Sagging floors
  • A top floor layer that is detached from the subfloor
  • Loose floor tiles

How to handle termite infestation in your subfloor

If you notice any of the signs above, you should have your home inspected for termites . A plan of action to remove the termites and repair the damage should then be create. Damaged areas will need to be removed and replaced, with particular attention paid to nearby wooden structural timbers, including adjacent floor joists.

Work should be undertaken in this order:

  • Inspection
  • Infestation treatment
  • Preventative measures taken
  • Second Inspection to determine eradication and control
  • Repair work

How to protect your subfloor from termites?

Of course, the best way to tackle termites is to be prepared: prevention is always better (and cheaper) than cure. Here are five things to do to ensure your subfloor remains termite free:

  • Regularly inspect for termites (with a maximum of 12 months between inspections)
  • Ensure the subfloor is well ventilated, to prevent moisture build-up
  • Ensure adequate drainage
  • Treat timbers against termite attack

If you would like to better protect your most valuable investment – your home – and help it to increase in value then contact us today.

What Happens When You Spray a Termite Nest with Fly Spray

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What Happens When You Spray a Termite Nest with Fly Spray

Here is an announcement that you may not have expected to see on this website: household fly spray, at just a few dollars per can, will kill termites.

HOWEVER (and it’s a BIG ‘however’) … it will ONLY kill the termites the spray hits.

The remaining termites will flee, alert the rest of the colony, and spread to other areas of your house. The colony will find safer areas to attack, exacerbating the damage already caused.

Doing this will leave you in a much worse (and more costly) position when it comes to getting a full, professional treatment which will actually save your property.

So repeat after us… DO NOT USE FLY SPRAY ON TERMITES.

A few hundred termites might be killed by prolonged spraying with fly spray, but with a termite queen laying up to 4,000 eggs per day, it will take just a few hours to replace those termites the fly spray has eradicated.

The problem with using fly spray is that you will only ever kill those termites you can see. The main nest could be metres away, underground, in a nearby tree, and contain hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of termites all ready to replace those you’ve managed to kill.

The first action taken by termites when faced with a bunch of their friends killed on the spot is to seal the tunnel leading to the site of slaughter. Then they dig a new tunnel to a new location. You’ll think you have solved your termite problem, while the termites are busy attacking a new part of your home.

The advantage of termite baiting

Termite baiting works in a completely different way to fly spray.

When termites locate a food source, they take food back and feed other termites in the colony, including soldiers and the queen. Baiting doesn’t kill the termites immediately, but works by causing the workers eating the poison to die slowly. The tunnels leading to the food supply are not sealed off, but with the workers dying the colony is slowly starved of food. Eventually, without food being returned to the nest, the colony starves to death.

Termite baiting is a proven system for the long-term control of termite infestation. It’s safe, targeted and eco-friendly, as well as easy to use.

If you’d like to know more about termite detection and termite baiting, why not ask one of our experts? We’re only an email or phone call away.

Myth busted: concrete slabs won’t protect you from termites | Coast Pest

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Myth Busted: Concrete Slabs Will NOT Protect You From Termites

Many people either building a home or looking to protect their existing home from termites mistakenly believe that a concrete slab under the home will be adequate protection. In fact, unless it is used in conjunction with other protective measures, a concrete slab could prove no more than an expensive piece of over-engineering. Termites are able to tunnel through cracks in concrete, and the slab itself is unlikely to eliminate wood to ground contact. But if combined with other protective measures, then a concrete slab can prove to be one of the more effective long term physical termite barriers.

How termites penetrate concrete slabs

Termites will look for any opening they are able to exploit in their search for food. Edges of slabs are particularly at risk, while holes for service pipes may provide the perfect aperture for tunnelling termites. If the concrete slab is at or below ground level, then the risk is increased.

When installing a concrete slab, it must measure up to Australian Standard 2870. Poorly designed slabs are more susceptible to cracking, which will allow easier termite access.

How to ensure concrete slabs protect from termites

For concrete slabs to be effective in the fight against termite attack, they need to be augmented with other protective measures. These include physical and chemical protection.

On top of joists, piles, or stumps, ant caps or termite shields should be used. These help to prevent termites direct access, so although they can still gain entry to the home they can be more easily observed. Crushed granite does a similar job, and both methods can be used underneath the concrete slab.

Chemical treatments include the injection of termiticides at the inner and outer edges of the concrete slab, as well as around the external perimeter and through expansion joints and cracks.

How to install the extra protection needed

To make a concrete slab as termite proof as possible, it is best to use a combination of both physical and chemical barriers to augment its strength. While a builder will be able to put physical barriers in place, chemical barriers can only be installed by licensed pest controllers. In many cases a trench will need to be dug to allow access for the chemical barrier.

Whether you are building a home, extending an existing home, or simply seeking to ensure your home remains termite free, a consultation with a Pink Pest expert will help you to make the right choice for your needs. The sooner you consider your termite protection needs, the better your protection will be.